Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Budget News, Initial Thoughts About DLA

Disability Living Allowance will not be reduced. All claimants will be given medical assesments from 2013.

Initial thoughts: Introducing medical assesments for DLA initially seems sensible. But it is based on a flawed assumption that there are many people claiming DLA who either do not need it or who are abusing the system.

If medicals are carried out by well trained, experienced medical professionals who understand and crucially are allowed to take into account the affects of fluctuating conditions this may be sensible. However, it will be a costly mistake to reassess many lifetime award claimants who have conditions which will never improve and likely to continue to degenerate.

However, should medicals be carried out in a similar manner to those for Employment and Support Allowance by companies like ATOS origin any potential savings will be drowned out by the vast cost of appeals. That does not take into account the huge personal cost to traumatised claimants, who will be the most vulnerable as those few fraudulent DLA claimants simply do not care & will find another way to abuse the system.

My suspicion is that these proposed changes to DLA are coming from an idealogical rather than practical position and in the long term will actually be more costly on both financial and personal levels rather than introducing any economic savings.

Updated, 1558: There is a more detailed look at the changes to DLA in today's budget over at Arbitrary Constant

40 comments:

I was thinking exactly the same, as it is when a medical assessment is called for by the DWP the Dr.s doing them are frankly pretty poor.

Ideally there would be specialist in the different areas of disability so that each claimant gets a doctor that has some basic knowledge to what their disability entails.This would be particularly useful for people with less medically well known or understood conditions, to have a doctor that didn't look at you blankly when you told them what you have would be brilliant!

That said, I suspect that quite a large percentage of DLA claimants end up having some sort of med exam anyway and DLA is probably already one of the most appealed benefits.

The big worry is that people being turned down by crap med assessments are put off appealing because of the so-called 'expert' input or that rates of refusal in general go up, catching more of the proportion of claimants who just don't have the confidence to appeal.

This will, of course be sold as a great success, saving money at the expense of 'bogus' claims.

In theory, I do support the assessments, on the grounds that so many of us claimants are considered malingering, money-grabbing fraudsters - this will hopefully wean out the few that actually are. However, as you rightly state, the difficulty is that most doctors carrying out social security assessments are the kind that are too...um...'unemployable' elsewhere. They aren't specialists, and they aren't (in my experience) particularly bright.

Ergo those with fluctuating and 'hidden' illnesses will be branded liars and their benefits taken from them. In all probability this will indeed lead to costly appeals, but I also worry that people like myself with severe mental health difficulties will lack the 'fight' to appeal; something like this is likely to ruin our lives (maybe an over-reaction, but there you have it).

It will be interesting getting a paranoid and hallucinating child to the committee in the first place - but perhaps even worse if he is having a rare hour or two of respite. He constantly afraid of being thought a cheat.

Indeed! However, what of those us with hidden ailments such as EDS? Even more so as Prof Bird is retiring soon, how will they gain confirmation that what we say is how it really is? They certainly cannot seriously expect to rely on the muppets I'be been bandied back and forth to since I was a kid, not one of whom could actually diagnose what was wrong with me!

I foresee a hell of a lot of genuine claimants being dumped onto the scrap heap and all their benefits withdrawn...dread to think of the mess this is going to cause and the stress for those concerned :(

Re Disability Living Allowance, it is a MUST that people with CHRONIC illness and Neurological disabilities that will NEVER improve, and will only get worse are treated properly. They MUST NOT BE MADE TO have an repeat medical assessments, as these illnesses will only get worse until they die, and MUST NOT BE TREATED THE SAME AS ILLNESSES THAT PEOPLE GET BETTER FROM. If people with these illnesses are made to regularly attend medical assessments it makes there illnesses worse!

Agreed on all counts. In theory, I don't mind submitting to a medical assessment. But who will do it? My GP doesn't even seem to be able to keep up to date with simple medical facts. How am I going to go into everything that contributes to why I need to claim DLA? How is a stranger going to assess my anxiety, and whether or not it affects me in the way I say it does? How are they going to test my mobility when it changes from one week to the next? Besides just taking my word for it, how are they going to carry this out?

I think it's going to end up being a collosal failure and waste of money. Like Pandora, I'm not sure I would be able to tolerate going through an appeals process. I would give up.

Ray saidBut that is what they want you to do give up on DLA and if enough of us do give up on it the will just get rid of it . So dont give up just keep appealing it will not cost you anything only time and if you are getting DLA you should have lots of time . So just keep fighting lets not just give in keep fighting Ray

We all know there are numerous good actors claiming the DLA benefit who should not be receiving it. Fact! I receive the war pension payment due to the loss of both legs and part loss of my left arm. I am now aged 62yrs and despite having suffered 5 heart attacks in recent years and suffering 2 strokes, I still manage fulfillent by doing a full time job. I draw no benfits other than my war pension.

So please do not tell me about not being able to work. I agree that many disabled cannot work, but my position brings me into daily contact with allegedly disabled people and in my opinion some 75% of DLA recipients and those in receipt of long term incapacity benefit are easily capable of some form of employment.The sole reason we have so many alegedly disabled people in the UK is totally due to the financial benefits which they can claim.Take those monies away, and many of those same disabled claiments will miraculously be cured!. overnight.Not something people want to hear, but it is simply true!

DLA is not means tested. It is a benefit designed to help with the additional costs of disability. Should you fulfil the extremely strict criteria then you are entitled to claim DLA regardless of what you earn. To be explicit, working people can, do and should claim DLA to help with the costs of their disability, it has nothing to do with ability to work or not.

@anonymous I disagree with you entirely. I am disabled. It's messed up my schooling so no one will employ me currently (I've managed to get into college though) but the little DLA I get is used getting to and from college so I can get a job.Yes there are some people who don't deserve DLA but get it. Not 75% as you put it, probably less than 25%. And there are far more disabled people who need and qualify for DLA that have been turned down than people scrounging.I am truly happy for you that you do work and you can get by without benefits but please understand that not all of us can and those that do work need the benefits in order to make the adjustments so they can.

This exactly the sytstem that existed prior to 1992 when all awards were made after a medical examination. It didn't work very well then which is why it was changed. Now adays it will be even harder to administer due to the shortage of good medical assessors. Most decisions will be badly made and very much open to appeal. I cant see it saving any more at all in fact it will cost a lot more to adminster.

Sorry if I upset anyone, yes perhaps my 75% is a exageration, but I do realistically think it's as many as half. It all depends how one decides the criteria for elegibility, which is where the government is currently looking of course.I am fully aware it's not a means tested benefit, and is indeed a aid to assist the disabled person manage more easily with their disabilty whether that be in employment or not, indeed many disabled people in employment receive the motability component of DLA.

However the fact remains that disability in the UK has over the years developed into a major lucrative industry, I work in that field myself, I'm sure had I been able bodied I likely wounldn't have got the job initially.

Motability Finance Ltd have at any one time over 560,000 cars on the road, which means they are purchasing around 186,000 cars each year (their own figures, not mine) so it's very big business indeed. They are the largest single purchaser of new vehicles in the UK.

We have moved a long way from it's initial inception when disabled vehicles were nothing more than a tiny 2-stroke engine in a tiny plastic 1 seater 3 wheeler.

The simple fact is that up till now, many people could receive DLA based purely on how good they filled the forms in,and there are sites on the web which advise how to do that in some detail, which increases your chance of success, and in many cases one's own doctors have been supporting the patients claim for fear of upsetting the patient/doctor relationship.

I've been helping people claim this benefit for many years, so I do have some idea of the numbers that quite honestly should not be elligible. I do my job, but for obvious reasons I am not allowed to voice my personal thoughts, that would be taboo of course and not very profesional.

Honestly, I have had people come to me in tears, because they have lost their DLA benefits, like many long term incapacity benefit claiments when the benefit is stopped they feel like someone who has just been made redundant, in fact that's quiet a frequently used discription of their plight.

Some of these people are worthy of the benefit while many are not, however I always treat all cases the same, it's not my job to judge, for obvious reasons, however that does not prevent myself or anyone else for that matter from having our own private opinions.

The fact is, it is a benefit that has been exploited by more and more people every year, and in many cases people have paid nothing into the system, a person can come into this country and immediately claim these benefits without contributing anything, and if successful can be driving around in a brand new motability car within a few months or receive the cash.

The fact that these benefits are not taken into consideration by the Pension Service when assessing income support or pension credit claims make even more attractive to would be fraudsters.

Unfortunatly, I sadly cannot see any way of filtering out fraudulent claimants, without it having some affect on the genuine one's.Many of these bogus claimants are very good actors indeed, fooling many people in the process including their own doctors, friends and even family members. The government have a difficult task indeed, but something needs doing, we shall soon have more motability cars on the road that privately owned one's...lol

Many may not agree, but the fact is, the UK has some of the most generous disabled schemes in Europe, it's been taken advantage of in large numbers, and if we are to preserve it's very existance, some very strict controls are needed, which can only benefit those that are genuine and warrant these benefits in the long term.JMO

Ray Why do people think its ok for people that have never paid anyting into the system to get benefits ? I got injured while in active service in the RN and it ruined my life I am 61 now . I went back to work doctors telling me not to ended up twice as bad . But it makes me mad seeing people coming from the EU and are able to get benefits including new cars . I once had a talk with one that came from Poland he said there are palces to go in Poland that tell you how to get a free car and lots of money and even get the forms before they even leave for the Uk . So why do some thing about it ? easy every one that come to the UK as to work 5 years before they get any benefits ? Lets not call our own people scroungers thats what they want lets stop the EU from sending people over just to claim benefits do that not sound fair ? does to me.

I fully agree with you, in fact I belive the government has been considering imposing some restrictions on imigrants making claims on our benefist system for some time, but I think it's unlikely to happen due to EU ipmplications.

I too was in HMF for 12 years and was serving in Ireland when the troubles were at their worst, which was where I lost my legs in a bomb incident, though I was lucky as 2 colleagues did not survive. I have 2 kids in the forces at the moment, so a touchy subject for me.It was good however to see the government doing something for those serving abroad by doubling their allowance. Regardless of the rights and wrongs of our foreign policies, these guys are doing something that very few indeed would even have the guts to do. Also few people seem to realise that if they did not volunteer, the government of the day would have no choice but to re-introduce conscription again.

much has been said about the governments plans being to costly because of the appeals process finding in favour of the disable claimant, And therefore costing more money instead of saving it.However i think the government will either end the right of appeal.Or like in Canada reduce the appeal panel to 1 member.

The reason why Asylum seekers and Migrants are not challenged over claiming benefits they are not entitled to is they are protected by varous laws but most Brits are not its about time people on benefits set up their own protection group too

Anon @9.59am Asylum seekers are not ALLOWED to work whils they are seeking asylum. They receive benefits at a lower rate than EU citizens and often in voucher form. Whilst I agree it's long overdue that those on welfare benefits had their own protection group it must not be at the expense of other equally vulnerable groups such as asylum seekers. Constructive criticism, discussion and suggestions are welcome here but targeting asylum seekers will NOT be tolerated. BendyGirl

One thing I have noticed is the number of misreporting in the press about people who get DLA. So many banging on about how this medical assessment will help find out if a person really 'is unfit for work'. DLA is not about that, it is not incapacity benefit.DOH! I have secondary progressive MS plus arthritis in both knees, I work full time. I have an understanding employer although quite frankly making me redundant when diagnosed would have been very dodgy. I didn't even know I could apply for DLA until 2 years ago: Interestingly from someone who really should not be getting it and she admitted that to me and was surprised I didn't even know about the benefit being genuinely disabled. After DWP putting me through numerous hoops and a direct letter from my MS consultant, I now get DLA. This helps hugely with my mobility costs, which in turn helps me continue to work. As anyone with a serious disability will tell you - it ain't cheap being us!!But like many people I am concerned that if the doctors are not aware of the issues of a complex condition, and the fact that I do work means I will be assessed as 'fit'; with no regard of the costs to me- both personally and financially - of continuing to work whle dealing with MS and the problems it causes.

The major isue, which it all comes down to, is how bad does a claimant have to be to be excused work duties. Simple as that!

We will always have some people who deem themselves disabled at the slightest thing, while at the other end of the scale, some people will want to work regardless of the seriousness of their condition.

In reality, most people are capable of some form of work, the mere fact that there are so many disabled people who are adept and very capable of typing and using computers, as illustrated by the large number who post on sites such as this one demonstrates that. So they could be considered fit to do something at a desk using a computer, though I'm sure many will likely state, they can only sit at a computer for a very short time...lol

It is a sad fact that if disability benefits were all stopped, so they were receiving no income at all, as was the situation many years ago, many of them would suddenly experience an improvement in their health, sufficient to earn a living.

Many have quoted how stringent the DLA assessment is, but if that were true, we would never see any reports at all in the press when they catch recipients playing football etc, or as one silly claimant did recently 'Climb Sydney Harbour bridge' and place the award they gave him on his lounge wall.

I have no doubt whatsoever, that many of the disability awards are not justified, but were awarded due to the claimants acting abilities.One gentlemant asked me some weeks ago prior to attending an appeal panel, if it was worthwhile hiring a wheelchair, and this was not a isolated case either.

Yes... the whole DLA scheme needs re-evaluating, unfortunately, I can see no way of pruning out claimants who are not genuine, without the measures having some affect on the genuine disabled.

I simply tell people that, if someone is genuinely disabled and cannot work, they have nothing whatsoever to fear from any government measures for re-assessments.

However, it does amaze me how talented and literate many disabled people are, which one can see from the many thousands of postings across the web especially after announcements from the government of the day threating to cut benefits or disability payments. I'm sure those same skills could be harnessed and used to contibute to their independance in some form of employment. IMO this is certainly something the government is looking at, hence the reason they are changing their approach to assess, "Not what the claimant cannot do' but to a more positive "What the Claimant CAN DO"Which I am sure you will all agree is a far better approach to disability.

It's only right that disabled people get all the help they need in order for them to achieve some form of independance, many disabled people are very proud and would rather be able to earn a living than be stuck at home on benefits, I know this to be true, and so does this government. As a disabled person myself, I am pleased to at last see a government doing something positive to help the disabled achieve some form of independance without them feeling inadecuate or estranged from society, IOW they can still contribute to society.

RayI am still a bit lost in why we the British can not look after our own people ? If we stopped giving all the emigrant such easy money a lot of these EU country's advertise for people to come to the UK to have there pergnancy terminated for nothing should we not be stopping things like this first ? giving them child benefit DWP say there is up to a 1000 a week applying for this and the kids dont even live in the UK . What you have got to ask your self would they do the same for us ? we all know the anwser would be no. They say the 1000s that have come from Somalia 99% have never worked so why are we paying benefits to them are we mad ? yes we are .

i am begining to doubt you are disabled,because you don't seem to understand DLA is not an out of work benefit, you CAN work and get DLA. It is paid because of the extra costs with being disabled.Some people who get DLA are not fit enough to work.Sorry but you sound more and more like a disabled hating troll

from someone DISABLED who can use a keyboard, has a functioning brain and therefore is capable of working! Dr Cameron

Thanks alot just what you come to expect from Tories . I got disabled serving my country in the RN protecting scum like you . I have gone back to work twice each time I have made my self worse yes I have a brain and can us my hands but not my arms this as taken 3 hours to do . Thanks for your surport hope all the others coming back injured will read what you think of them .

I so wish that were true, and I find your comments offensive, and unjustified. It is obvious that I have touched a nerve, a very common reaction from many disabled people.

To correct you, if you read my posts properly you will see that I have acknowledged that DLA payments are to help people cope with their disabilities whether they work or not. SO DO NOT MAKE STATEMENTS WHICH ARE NOT TRUE!

As for your final comments, well you said it yourself! ..if you consider yourself able to use your brain in some typewriting capacity I'm sure we can find some position for you somewhere, if you care to supply your details I will see what we can do for you. You may as well get paid for it, rather than wasting your talents.

In reality no disabled person would rather be stuck at home on benefits, regardless what those benfits are. The majority of disabled people if given the opportunity and the right kind of help and support would always rather be in some form of employment, which is natural. The government recognises this, and with our help and others will endevour to help those who choose this option to get back into the workplace. Also most importantly, when a disabled person endevours to hold down a job which he/she may be capable of doing, they should not suffer financially as a result. IOW, no-one should be better off by staying at home than working, this is how it's always been in the past. If a disabled person wishes to work just a few hours a week because their disability is such, that is all they can manage, then thats fine. Financial loss of a certain benefit, at least initially should not occur until the client is happy they can continue on a more permanent basis.

This all about giving the help they need to get back into some form of employment if the disabled person wishes, which IME most definately do! However, no pressure whatsoever will be put on those disabled who are genuinely deemed totally unfit to work at all.

These are policies to help and benefit the UK's disabled people, not to make their lives harder.

I talk to many disabled people each day, and the common phase is 'I would love to get back into some form of work' but worry they will be worse off. Our disabled deserve better, if they wish to contribute in some small way as many do, then they should not be penalised for doing so.

Cameron: Yes, we do deserve better. I agree that many disabled people could do some work, but few could manage full time work or even consistent part time work.I think if politicians are serious about helping disabled people to work they should be promoting the benefits of employing disabled people to employers in the form of education, grants and tax breaks, looking at ways to encourage tele commuting and simplifying benefits so that those like myself who could manage some work if it were from home can be supported to do so without losing all of their benefits and therefore being back where they started. Having said that, I simply do not believe that this current govt or the previous one have any real intention of helping genuinely disabled people to work, the agenda is to save money, no more no less. BendyGirl

I agree with you, it is always about saving money, unfortunately claims for DLA have risen more than 20 fold over recent years. However I remind you you that none of my comments are ever targeted at someone who is genuinly disabled. My comments are intended for those who are not! It's these actors who are doing the damage to the genuine disabled. Everytime, one of these actors get caught out with the high publicity the cases attract in the media, it causes untold damage to people like myself, you and all the other genuine disabled people. Though I may or may not be lucky in that my own disabilities are obviously visible, so people dont accuse me of abusing the bluebadge scheme for example, at least I've not been accused yet..lol

The fact is, are we to realistically believe that all our disabled people are genuine, you and I know that is not the case, and anyone who is half honest would answer the same.

We have a unrealisticly large proportion of the population who claim they are disabled to avoid working. Fact! the numbers have dramatically increased over the years until the cost is totally crazy. Why do YOU think this is.?

Lets be 100% honest here, we all know someone who is alegedly disabled, but is nowhere as bad as they claim to be. These are the people who are doing a dis-service to the genuinely disabled. I am sure that had the numbers of disabled been more realistic, it would not be getting this attention from the government.

It's similiar to people who abuse the badge scheme, we all frequently see people who are obviously not the badge holder using disabled bays with the badge, but the disabled person is'nt even in the vehicle, or appears not to be.

Disabled people need to report anyone they believe is not genuine, because by staying silent, they are condoning the offence, and are doing themselves no favours whatsoever in the long term.

The biggest issue is what defines 'Disabled' and that is the big dilemma. One persons definition of disabled is another person 'cold'...lol. I'm sure you know exactly what I mean, and it's this criteria scale which frequently comes into question.

I don't pretend to have a solution, but the facts speak for themselves, the country cannot afford to continue to pay unsustainable ever increasing numbers year on year on disability payments, One could ask why do we have 20 times more disabled now than we did 25 years ago, when we have a honest answer to that, then maybe we may have a solution to fix it.

i belive that wene you go for a medical most people come out of the center with the good news dla that they no longer have a dissabillity. if thats the case i will go tomorrow after having 2 hearts attacks/colitis/ mental health issuse/ recurring boils in the groin and anus/ and much more.i cant belive i have sat here for two years feeling sorry for my self wene i could have called on doc almighty

If you could translate your last post into English I will be glad to respond.I gather however from some of your posting that you are indeed a very sick gentleman, and it's obvious you have genuine medical issues, that being the case, then my comments are not aimed at you either.

Please people, stop getting paranoid, it's only those who are not genuinly disabled that may have something to fear. No doctor in his right mind is going to return someone to work if that person is likely to fall down dead next day.

I suspect however, that often, when decisions relating to whether a person is deemed fit to return to work, that they do indeed consider potential fatality risks when assessing people.This is one of the reasons that it's unlikely that anyone who has a history of severe heart decease, and has a proven history of one or more myocardial infarctions they will ever be returned to work against the claiments wishes, purely for the reason it would be regarded as very risky indeed.

That's not to say it never happens, but cases which offer little risk of fatality, such as a bad back or arthritic conditions may be regarded as more likely candidates, just pure commonsense, have you ever heard of anyone dying from a bad back, or arthritic knees, I certainly haven't, and this is how these so called medical experts who make these decisions think. Self preservation! They have to error on the side of safety, if someone has a genuine life threatening condition they are never going to be deemed fit for work that's pretty obvious even to YOU ANON:

Thank you for posting about this. I too have HEDS and fibromyalgia, along with mental health problems, and was awarded an indefinite award of LRC and HRM earlier this year at the age of 24, as they had accepted that it's unlikely I will get better.

To the ATOS doctors I look just fine, and the DLA process was hell to go through for the last few years. To have that taken away again... I don't know what I'll do. Fighting for it made me suicidal. Having to do it again...and looking as young and healthy as I do, even though I walk with a cane (helps build upper-limb muscle tone & aids me to reduce my hips properly when they subluxate)? Does not bode well for me, since my doctors took ten years of problems to even diagnose me and ATOS don't bother to do their research. :( I'm dreading going through that again.

Why when anyone talks of disability the emphasis is always on a physical disability, occasionally on the mental, but never on congenital Learning Disabilities?

Even the budgetis discriminatory against learning disabled stating, "to ensure support is targeted on those with the highest medical need".

I care for my two adult sons who have severe learning disabilities and neither have any "medical" needs whatsoever. They are strong as oxes and healthy as they come, thank heavens, however they are unable to read, write or speak, they don´t understand money and cannot even leave the house without someone to accompany them let alone shop, cook, or do anything for themselves.

Now they are to be put through a medical... to discover what? To see if they can work...? I suppose either of my sons could be trained to lift crates in supermarkets, and one does a fair job mowing the lawn for a neighbour he adores so I suppose if they shackle him to a mower and use a whip he might mow the lawn around the houses of parliament and earn his keep from the state.

Many of you above comment on how literate the blogging disabled are and how they must be scroungers, etc. But please don´t forget those that don´t have a voice except through me or advocates. The the most vulnerable of all, the severely learning disabled who will now lose out with the change to how DLA rises year when they did not contribute even in one penny to the crisis we are going through nor did I their sole carer who f all help from Social Care and the little help we get is likely now to be cut in the spending reductions. A double whammy for the learning disabled and a triple one if as it seems further cuts are made in the near future.

Why when anyone talks of disability the emphasis is always on a physical disability, occasionally on the mental, but never on congenital Learning Disabilities?

Even the budgetis discriminatory against learning disabled stating, "to ensure support is targeted on those with the highest medical need".

I care for my two adult sons who have severe learning disabilities and neither have any "medical" needs whatsoever. They are strong as oxes and healthy as they come, thank heavens, however they are unable to read, write or speak, they don´t understand money and cannot even leave the house without someone to accompany them let alone shop, cook, or do anything for themselves.

Now they are to be put through a medical... to discover what? To see if they can work...? I suppose either of my sons could be trained to lift crates in supermarkets, and one does a fair job mowing the lawn for a neighbour he adores so I suppose if they shackle him to a mower and use a whip he might mow the lawn around the houses of parliament and earn his keep from the state.

Many of you above comment on how literate the blogging disabled are and how they must be scroungers, etc. But please don´t forget those that don´t have a voice except through me or advocates. The the most vulnerable of all, the severely learning disabled who will now lose out with the change to how DLA rises year when they did not contribute even in one penny to the crisis we are going through nor did I their sole carer who f all help from Social Care and the little help we get is likely now to be cut in the spending reductions. A double whammy for the learning disabled and a triple one if as it seems further cuts are made in the near future.

" you don't seem to understand DLA is not an out of work benefit, you CAN work and get DLA. It is paid because of the extra costs with being disabled."

as someone who is fortunately able to work full-time (albeit at the base of the pay league where I work)in an alternative to their former chosen profession, it does my head in when people link getting people off DLA to getting people back to work. Makes them look ignorant with a distinct lack of knowledge!

I have just won a tribunal for upper rate mobility DLA. I'm 36, had 6 heart attacks in the past 2 years, I can walk maybe 15yds at a push. Acute heart disease - awaiting a heart transplant, acute claudication - facing possibility of my legs being amputated.

Letters from my GP, 3 heart surgeons, vascular surgeon were all ignore by the DWP, forcing me to apply for a tribunal. The tribunal judges took 4 minutes to decide in my favour, saying I should never have had to appeal in the first place.

Now if they are going to make everyone have a medical, if its like medicals I have had in the past for incapacity benefit, it will be by a GP with no access to my medical notes and no specialist knowledge. Last medical DR said I was faking it as no way would someone my age have that many heart attacks - I guess I just fancied a couple of weeks in hospital, in a room of 70yr old men who all used a commode every 10 mins... yeah.. luxury.

Without DLA I am housebound, and have been for over 12 months while waiting for tribunal. Not looking forward to 2013 when I will have to go through all this shit again.

I am waiting too go to a tribunal, having had 9 heart attacks, numerous angina attacks. I to am housebound due to not been able too get out, I have a wheelchair and oxygen and still get so tired when having too go to appointments. And stil I've got to fight for dla.. My partner does care for me 24/7 as even when I'm sleeping, I get woken by severe chest pains, due too spasms of my arteries. I cnt have any operations as when I had a triple bypass it went terribly wrong, also a heart transplant is out of the question also.. Sorry for the rant, but it makes me soo mad reading about people who get high rate dla and mobility for a few pins and needles.. You want to try and live with a chronic illness and you tell me who deserves the benefit more...

hi i have had two mri scans and i have proven my condition, but im not entitled to dla despite the fact ive had two epijurals in ten months (temporary measures) 11 prescription tabs per day and forced to reduced my working hours following medical advice. i now been told i need back surgury and will be off work for upto a whole year. then i will end up been sacked on medical grounds. and then lose my home so i need help. but those who claim internal injuries such as bad backs SHOULD be forced to have an mri scan to prove if they really are disabled. those whom are lying should be kicked into the streets and ignored like many homeless people.

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